[STORY] Arisha

  • 1 year ago

Ever since she was a child, Arisha held extraordinary power.
She could look into moments... Special moments, in which time was stopped.
Moments where the wind froze, and the world sunk into silence. Where not a single leaf so much as twitched.
Arisha liked those moments.
Fascinating.

One day, Arisha encountered a man as she was exploring some forsaken ruins.
What's your name, girl?
Arisha. Who's asking?
The man laughed.
I am called Shenn.
Would you like to learn magic... Arisha?
Without a moment's hesitation, Arisha nodded.
That's how her new life begun.
Arisha followed Shenn to his tower and began to explore her innate powers.
She had a talent for controlling mana.

To help her, Shenn crafted a focus.
When she used it, Arisha could manipulate mana particles however she pleased.
Even as she grew in power, the moments where time stood still continued to seek her out.
But they were no longer pleasant. They had become moments of pain and nightmare.
Unbearable loneliness pressed down upon her, crushing Arisha in darkness that felt eternal.
She would be trapped in those moments until she blacked out. When she awoke, Shenn was always at her side.
What's happening to me?
Everything will be all right.
Shenn brushed her forehead as Arisha trembled in fear.
One night, as Arisha slept...

Shenn's blade pierced through her chest.
It was a ritual to seal the god from the otherworld, who was lurking inside Arisha's body.
When it felt the ritual begin, the god began to fight back.
Mana surged out of Arisha and attacked Shenn.
He screamed from the pain, but never let go of the sword in his hand.
The image of Arisha thrashing reflected from his eyes.
But he never let go. With one final cry, he poured all the mana he could muster into the seal.
The seal was complete. The room grew still.
A pair of glasses and a longsword clattered to the ground.
When Arisha finally awoke, she picked up the glasses, puzzled.
They belonged to someone... Someone who cared about her...
But she could not remember who.
She wandered for days, aimless, not knowing who she was.
Her body was marked with rune magic, but she couldn't remember what had caused them.
She headed to the city, hoping the magician who lived there would be able to help her.
On the way there, a group of masked men surrounded her.
She readied her mana for a battle.

Peace, girl. We are not here to fight you.
One of the men spoke. She could not tell which it was.
We are here to check on the heretic's power, To make sure it's been successfully sealed.
It's in a different form than we expected, but it appears to have been sealed.
With that, the masked men turned to leave.
Stop! Who are you? What do you know about me?
The men paused.
I almost forgot. He told us to tell you...
Witch of Time, the person you seek is no longer in this world.
A shadow tugged on Arisha's memory...
A man's laugh... A sharp face adorned with a pair of glasses.

The memory flickered and was lost...
Arisha felt tears flowing down her face.
She vowed to find an answer. She wouldn't return to the tower until she did.
Arisha left the forest and arrived at a town.
The town's name was Colhen.